


Misadventures in Rhudaur

by Doranwen



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen, Injured in the Wilderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 09:51:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18258869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doranwen/pseuds/Doranwen
Summary: Elrohir decides to sneak Estel out of Imladris to go hunting.  Elladan doesn't think it's a good idea.





	Misadventures in Rhudaur

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bereft_of_frogs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bereft_of_frogs/gifts).



" _Muindor nín_ , can you explain to me again why are we sneaking out of Imladris like prisoners escaping gaol?" Elladan whispered as he and Estel followed Elrohir down a corridor that led to a rarely-used back door.

"My dear brother, do you not remember the last time we took Estel hunting?" Elrohir motioned for silence as he slowly opened the door and led the motley crew of two _ellyn_ and one teenage boy out of Imladris.

Elladan did remember, he thought as he followed Elrohir, hoping none of the night guards would happen to patrol by that particular exit just then. During the last hunting trip with Estel, the three of them had managed to stumble across a group of at least thirty orcs. While the number of orcs was ridiculously easy to deal with, the stray arrow that managed to catch Estel's arm was less so, and it had taken a bit of their father's skill to stop the resulting infection from spreading. Elrond was not so pleased with the outcome, and had forbidden the twins to take Estel with them without his express permission.

"We should be safe to talk now," Elrohir finally told them when he deemed them far enough beyond the border guards.

"Given _Ada_ 's reaction the last time, why did you decide we should do so again?" Elladan glanced at Estel, who remained silent, with a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Why **Elladan** had to be the reasonable one of the three, he would never know.

"Because all of the fuss is quite unnecessary. Not only is Estel unlikely to find himself in the path of another orc arrow—if nothing else, he now knows to get **out** of the path of those foul projectiles"—this was said with a less-than-subtle look at Estel, who merely grinned—"but I also took the precaution of learning how to treat the effects of Orc poisons on humans. We're all set," Elrohir proclaimed.

Elladan raised his eyebrows but sighed silently. He had tried to be the voice of reason, he really had, but when the choice was to stay behind or participate in the rule-breaking (and being complicit either way, since he was no tattletale), his path was obvious. After all, who would rescue his brothers if he wasn't there?

* * *

"Deer," Estel said, pointing to tracks on the ground. The 14-year-old had grown quite skilled at tracking since the twins had started training him several years before, and they continued to require him to do all of it for them as practice.

"Excellently spotted," Elrohir pronounced. "How long ago?"

The boy knelt to examine the tracks more closely. "Less than a day? They're fairly fresh."

"Marvelous. We may catch up to them yet. Lead on, Estel," Elrohir commanded. With that, the trio continued walking through the wild lands north of their home. "You see," he whispered as an aside to Elladan, "nothing has happened. There are no orcs, we're all fine."

"And when _Ada_ finds out?" Elladan countered.

Elrohir waved a hand dismissively. "I left him a note in our room. He might send Glorfindel after us, but he can't have all of us kidnapped and dragged back without announcing to the whole of Rhudaur that something's going on. By the time we get back, we'll be able to show him that it's perfectly fine to take Estel hunting with us."

Elladan hid his skepticism behind a blank face. He did not think the welcome home was likely to be all that warm, but there was naught to be done about it now.

* * *

"I believe the herd is just over this hill," Estel said.

"Excellent. Let's see if the top doesn't give us a good vantage point for a kill shot." Elrohir immediately began to climb, with Estel not far behind.

Elladan eyed the "hill" in question. It was more of a cliff, with a near-vertical ascent. Large boulders dotted the landscape on either side—and the nearest path to the other side that didn't involve climbing the hill would take hours to traverse. He suppressed a sigh and began to pick his way up the steep slope.

"Good," Elrohir told Estel. "You remember the rules about climbing."

"Never climb too closely in another person's footsteps, otherwise if they slip they could fall into you," Estel said.

"Correct," said Elrohir. He looked up at the hill in front of them. "Not much longer. Then we can—"

He never got the chance to finish his sentence. Elladan glanced up in horror to see the ground of the entire hillside began to move underneath them. "Landslide!" he called, and turned to sprint down as quickly as possible. Unfortunately the ground was faster than even an elf's feet could manage, and he soon found himself tumbling erratically down, down, down. He felt several bodies slam into his, sending pain shooting through his body, and dirt poured over him. Then all was silent, and he concentrated on breathing slowly in the tiny pocket of air that he had.

Groans met his ears, and he soon felt Elrohir's hand brushing some of the dirt away and pulling on his left shoulder—to which he bit back a moan as the pain grew intense. Elrohir quickly switched to Elladan's right side and Elladan managed to stand upright with the help. He spit out a little dirt that had gotten in his mouth and took stock of the three of them. Elrohir was clutching his left arm to himself. "Brother?" he asked quietly.

"I think my arm is broken," Elrohir said.

"As is my shoulder," said Elladan. He sighed and turned to Estel, who was not only covered with dirt, but was also collapsed on the ground holding his lower right leg. "No," he said in disbelief, reaching down with his good arm to check. Estel winced and his eyes grew suspiciously wet as Elladan's fingers explored the leg. "It's broken," he said, shaking his head. He stood up and fixed his gaze on Elrohir, who had the good sense to look a bit sheepish. " _Ada_ ," Elladan pronounced, "is going to **kill** us."

* * *

Elladan had to admit Estel was a brave lad, shedding no tears as they worked between themselves to bind up his leg. Given that each elf had only one good arm, the process was a little tricky, with much talk back and forth to coordinate limb movements. Estel blinked back any moisture when they were done. "I can't walk on it, but at least I can limp, and you can find me a stick to hobble with."

"Now it's just my arm and your shoulder," Elrohir said. "Slings, then?"

Elladan nodded. "We can use our shirts for that," said Elladan, "but getting them off of our bodies and on us as slings is going to be tricky."

"I can do it if you can sit in front of me," said Estel. " _Ada_ already showed me how."

* * *

It was nearly an hour after their accident that the three were ready to continue. Elrohir found Estel a stick for a crutch, and the two positioned themselves on either side of the boy with their good arms poised to help him if necessary. "It took us seven hours to get this far; it will probably take us twice that to get back," said Elrohir.

"At least," Elladan muttered.

Elrohir frowned. "It's really too bad we couldn't have gotten a deer first. The herbs that I have won't be all that appealing alone, and I didn't bring much more than a handful of dried meat with us; there wasn't any lembas left from the last time they made it."

Elladan rolled his eyes. "Had we gotten the deer, we would be fending off predators from the fresh meat. As it is, we may still be fending off predators—who see **us** as fresh meat. Walking this slowly, they'll know we're wounded, and we don't even have a working bow between us anymore to chase them off…" It wasn't entirely true, as Elrohir's bow was mostly unharmed, but it was far too strong for Estel to pull, and neither elf could wield one with their injuries. "Let's hope we get close enough to home before nightfall, or we may run into orcs as well."

The pace quickened perceptibly at that, but there was little they could do to speed up Estel's hobbling, and no way to build any sort of carrying device that wouldn't hurt them, with their own injuries. The trek home was silent, without even the teaching moments Elrohir usually threw in anytime Estel was with them. Estel's pain was obvious, but he refused to make a sound, gritting his teeth at every jarring of his leg. For short periods of time, Elrohir and Elladan figured out how to clasp their good arms together and hoist Estel on them for carrying over the rougher ground, but he was no small child, and the weight was too great to carry for long that way. Their waterskins remained functional, and the elves were able to fill them from small streams on the way, but hunger soon gnawed at their stomachs.

" _Muindor_ —" Elrohir began.

"No," said Elladan flatly. "I am going to concentrate on getting home safely. You can apologize later."

Elrohir closed his mouth.

* * *

Elladan was thankful for his elven eyesight and footing as he and Elrohir picked their way across the Bruinen, Estel perched on their arms between them. The north crossing was not the safest, particularly not in the dark, but it would be miles upon miles out of the way to go down the bank to reach the fords there. Their feet were nearly numb with the cold by the time they safely reached the other side and could set Estel down once more.

They had gone only a little ways when Elrohir hissed, "Someone's out here."

The three froze and listened for any clues. All was silent until there was suddenly the sound of a horse snorting. Elrohir and Elladan exchanged glances, and Elrohir left the two to creep closer where he could see the other party. Suddenly, his voice could be heard clearly. "Glorfindel, _mae govannen_! I assume our father sent you?"

Elladan helped Estel limp closer to the conversation.

"Indeed, and it appears to be a good thing. What did you battle this time?"

"A landslide," Elrohir admitted sheepishly as the other two came into view.

Glorfindel raised his eyebrows at the sight of all three together, coated in dirt (or mud) with shirts wrapped around their injuries. "It would appear that the land won this one." He beckoned to his horse and lifted Estel up onto its back. "There, she'll take you home, and we can walk the rest of the way. It will give your father a chance to calm down." He gave Elrohir and Elladan a pointed look.

Elladan had no objections to that idea. Especially when Glorfindel began telling a series of stories, involving elves who decided (for some reason or another) to go against counsel they had been given, and how things turned out badly as a result. Whether his father or Glorfindel himself came up with the idea of the tales, it was hard to say, but the point was not lost on him.

They reached the entrance to Imladris well into the night, and Elladan could see the crowd waiting for their return. Before they got close enough to be separated, Elrohir spoke quietly. "I'm sorry; I honestly thought it would go fine. We didn't run into any orcs, see?"

Elladan sighed and shook his head. "Next time you get the bright idea to defy _Ada_ , count me out!" Elrohir could rescue himself from his own poor choices…


End file.
